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Manitoba Facts & Worksheets

Manitoba is a Canadian province bordered by Ontario to the east and Saskatchewan to the west.

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Manitoba is a Canadian province bordered by Ontario to the east and Saskatchewan to the west. Its landscape of lakes and rivers, mountains, forests and prairies stretches from northern Arctic tundra to Hudson Bay in the east and southern farmland. Much wilderness is protected in more than 80 provincial parks, where hiking, biking, canoeing, camping and fishing are all popular.

See the fact file below for more information on the Manitoba or alternatively, you can download our 21-page Manitoba worksheet pack to utilise within the classroom or home environment.

Key Facts & Information

HISTORY AND SETTLEMENT

  • Modern-day Manitoba was inhabited by First Nations people around 10,000 years ago; they left behind evidence of their habitation by means of pottery shards, copper, and other signs of human life and agriculture.
  • Aboriginal settlements of Ojibwa, Cree, Dene, Sioux, Mandan, and Assiniboine peoples came into the area as a result of the development of the fur trade.
  • Although Henry Hudson was one of the first Europeans to sail into Hudson Bay in 1611, the first European to reach modern-day Manitoba was Sir Thomas Button in 1612, who hoped to find a trade route to China.
  • The first name given to the area by Europeans was Rupert’s Land (named after Prince Rupert, who helped subsidize the Hudson Bay Company) which encompassed the Hudson Bay watershed.
  • After the Seven Years’ War (fought mainly by Great Britain and the Kingdom of France), Great Britain secured the territory in 1763.
  • The first agricultural and community settlements in the area that is now Winnipeg was first founded in 1812 by Lord Selkirk.
  • Rupert’s Land was ceded to Canada in 1869 by the British and was immediately incorporated into the Northwest Territories.
  • The concerns of the Métis group who lived in the area were not being listened to, so their leader, Louis Riel, established a local provisional government that had delegates that went to Ottawa to negotiate with the Canadian government about representation and reform.
  • The Manitoba Act created the province of Manitoba and aimed to decrease the tension between parliament and the Métis of the Red River area. Some promises to the Métis have still not been upheld or settled upon to this day.
  • By 1911, Winnipeg was the third largest city in Canada.
  • Canada’s entry in the First World War as well as the Great Depression shortly after led to discontent and worry among workers and farmers; however the contribution of Manitoba to the training of pilots for the British Commonwealth boosted morale and the economy.
  • Shortly after the war, in 1950, the Red River flooded most of the Red River Valley, forcing many people to evacuate. This led to the construction of the Red River Floodway, completed in 1968, which has helped prevent other water-related disasters in the area.

CULTURE AND ECONOMY

  • Manitoba’s economy relies on agriculture (being the country’s largest producer of sunflower seeds and dry beans), energy, oil, and forestry.
  • The company “McCain Foods”, providing french fries for McDonald’s, Wendy’s, and other fast-food restaurants, buys potatoes from a city in Manitoba called Portage la Prairie.
  • Prior to Manitoba’s modern economy, the Hudson’s Bay Company controlled the area, but when the land was given to the province of Manitoba in 1870, all the land became property of the federal government, who then gave the land to settlers for farming.
  • The culture of Manitoba has been largely influenced by Indigenous peoples from the area, as well as immigration.
  • The Red River Jig is a traditional Métis dance that originated in the province.
  • Many prominent Canadian films were produced in Manitoba, as well as many notable literary works.
  • Manitoba is home to one of the largest folk festivals in North America – the Winnipeg Folk Festival, originating in 1974.

GEOGRAPHY AND CLIMATE OF MANITOBA

  • Within Canada, Manitoba lies west of Ontario and east of Saskatchewan. It is south of the territory Nunavut.
  • To the south of Manitoba are the states of North Dakota and Minnesota.
  • Manitoba has an extreme climate with six unique ecozones, including the Boreal Plains, Prairies, Hudson, Boreal Shield, Taiga Shield, and Southern Arctic.
  • There are three dominant mountain ranges in manitoba – the Duck Mountains, the Pembina Mountains, and the Porcupine Mountains.
  • Much of the southern part of the province has been converted from open grasslands to farmlands, and it is relatively treeless.
  • Some animals you might see in Manitoba include caribou, lynx, red squirrels, coyotes, beavers, black bears, mink, wolves, and Arctic foxes.
  • There are more than 110,000 lakes in Manitoba that cover almost 40,000 square miles of its surface area.
  • Southern parts of the province can experience tornadoes, as Manitoba lies just north of the famous “Tornado Alley” (a term used to describe the area of the US where tornadoes occur most often).
  • Forests make up nearly half of the province’s land area.
  • Churchill, a city in Manitoba, is commonly referred to as the “Polar Bear Capital”.
  • There are two major bird migration routes that pass through Manitoba, with 392 confirmed identified species, including the great grey owl, the province’s official bird (pictured above).

Manitoba Worksheets

This is a fantastic bundle which includes everything you need to know about Manitoba across 21 in-depth pages. These are ready-to-use Manitoba worksheets that are perfect for teaching students about the Manitoba which is a Canadian province bordered by Ontario to the east and Saskatchewan to the west. Its landscape of lakes and rivers, mountains, forests and prairies stretches from northern Arctic tundra to Hudson Bay in the east and southern farmland. Much wilderness is protected in more than 80 provincial parks, where hiking, biking, canoeing, camping and fishing are all popular.

Complete List Of Included Worksheets

  • The Battle of Seven Oaks
  • Manitoba Crossword
  • Spotlight on: Louis Riel
  • The Red River Rebellion
  • Manitoba Acrostic
  • Modern Politics
  • The Winnipeg General Strike
  • True or False?
  • Manitoba Wordsearch
  • Word Work

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Link will appear as Manitoba Facts & Worksheets: https://kidskonnect.com - KidsKonnect, April 3, 2019

Use With Any Curriculum

These worksheets have been specifically designed for use with any international curriculum. You can use these worksheets as-is, or edit them using Google Slides to make them more specific to your own student ability levels and curriculum standards.

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